Men in tight pants running around an open grassy field. Leather slapping their hands, heads crashing together. This can only mean one thing--it's Super Bowl time. There is something so intriguing about the mixture of violence, competition and sport that football displays. It's such a delicate balance between game and infliction of physical pain.
I once read that football is a metaphor for the American ideal system. Many teams, supposedly equal in all ways; whoever works harder will achieve the ultimate goal of victory. If you practice, work hard and play by the rules, you will succeed. However, if you break the rules or slander the integrity of the game in any way, you are punished and, of course, will be defeated.
Okay, maybe it's not that deep. Maybe it's just a form of entertainment, watching a battle for a common goal. Football could just be a way to foster loyalty to a certain city or team, or a master plan to sell huge amounts of soft pretzels and malt cups. Whatever the reason for the sport, it's a tradition drenched in testosterone.
But it's intended to be good, clean fun (even if some of the players aren't the best role models). The game itself can have positive influences on people to work as a team and rally together. It's meant to be enjoyed, and even though it's male/testosterone based, many women, including myself, get into football and indulge in it on a regular basis.
All right, I'm not here to get up on a soap box about football. You figured me out. This was just a clever segue into another arts-related topic. So let me get away from testosterone- based sport and dive right into testosterone- based music. Just by reading the last sentence you probably already have a picture in your head of a certain \cowboy"" and a certain ""nookie""-hungry fellow. Well, you're right, those two are right up there on the list. I won't argue with the fact that some people find these guys entertaining, but let's think about why.
Maybe some people relate to these types of meatheaded bands. Maybe you did it all for the nookie, once, too. Maybe it's the fun tongue twisters that attract attention. Baw wit da baw da bang da bang diggy diggy diggy scooby dooby doo shoo wap do wap umm bop... Maybe it's all just a way to get aggression out by screaming and slamming into the guy next to you. Maybe there are people out there who aspire to be mentally-ill circus stars.
Whatever the reason, a lot of people are buying into testosterone rock, and somehow it has snuck its way into popular culture. Pop music in many ways is a mirror of pop culture. Music doesn't necessarily cause things to happen, but rather puts what's already happening in the spotlight.
So what is being said about our culture with testosterone rock at center stage? For one thing, there are a lot of pissed-off people who don't mind starting a riot simply for their own pleasure. And based on some music videos and recent concerts, there are many who exploit women, as well as midgets.
The implications of all this are up to everyone, whether you support testosterone rock or not. Ask yourself if it's only entertainment, or if it's just a way to justify certain behaviors and dumb them down. Ask yourself if testosterone rock is fueling the fire of misdirected, suburban kids, or just emulating negative ideals that already exist. Either way it's not helping anything. So next time you're thinking of getting your anger out on stage, why not play a nice friendly game of football?
